Montford Park Players, an Asheville theatrical tradition, is proud to announce their upcoming production of Julius Caesar, the classic tragedy written by William Shakespeare. The performances will be held at the BeBe Theatre, located at 20 Commerce Street in the heart of Downtown Asheville, from November 4th through the 20th on Friday andSaturday evenings at 7:30pm, with matinees on Sundays at 2:30 pm. This performance like ALL of Montford Park Players’ shows will be absolutely FREE to attend.

While the play was last performed by the Montford Park Players in 2011, this production is special as the cast is all-female. Gender-bending is nothing new in presenting Shakespeare’s works, but with a canon that is light on strong roles for actresses, Montford Park Players is presenting this particular version to showcase so many of the woman who grace their stage year-after-year, but rarely get to sink their teeth into characters such as Caesar, Mark Antony and Brutus, as they will here. Scott Keel, the play’s director, and Artistic Director of Montford Park Players, says of this choice, “A Juliet or Lady Macbeth come along every once in a while, but it’s usually only one of those plum female roles in any play of Shakespeare’s catalog. This production really lets us show Asheville many of the amazing actresses we get to work with, in roles that deserve their talents.”

Montford is also excited about its return to the BeBe Theatre, a venue in which they haven’t performed for some time. “An intimate space such as the BeBe allows the audience a more visceral experience than they might get from our summer shows on the expansive Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre stage,” said Mr. Keel. “Every plot, every scheme and, yes, every kill, can be experienced personally.”

The plot, taken directly from history, is pretty well-known: Julius Caesar is declared the sole ruler of Rome, to the consternation of the sitting Senate. They plot and then succeed in his assassination, leaving a power vacuum, which foments a civil war. One can make their own conclusions as to how this applies in this current, contentious election year.

Julius Caesar is one of the world’s most performed plays, even over 400 years since it was first presented. This production’s stellar cast includes MPP favorites Jane Hallstrom, Devyn Ray, Melon Wedick and Christine Caldemeyer, among many of Asheville’s other most-recognizable actors.

Montford Park Players, has been presenting Shakespeare and other classical works to the Asheville community since 1973, and has since grown to be one of Western North Carolina’s most beloved and well-known cultural attractions.

November 4th through the 20th
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm

35below, 35 East Walnut St., Asheville, NC

Attic Salt Theatre Company, the team who produced 2016’s comedy SMASH “All in the Timing” at NC Stage and past years’ acclaimed “God of Carnage” and “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” is pleased to announce their latest play, the Pulitzer-prize winning drama How I Learned to Drive, at 35below in Downtown Asheville. 35below is located at 35 East Walnut St in Downtown Asheville. The performances will be held Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm, from November 4th through the 20th. Seating in the black box theater will be general admission, with all tickets costing $20.00. Tickets can be purchased through the Asheville Community Theatre box office at ashevilletheatre.orgor call 828-254-1320.

Sweeping the Off-Broadway awards in 1998, the year of its original production, How I Learned to Drive is one of the most acclaimed plays of the 20th Century. The story of a teenage girl and her relationship with her uncle about which the New York Times said contains “Ms. Vogel’s remarkable, clear-eyed empathy in portraying the incalculable damage done by damaged people”

As lead character Li’l Bit recounts her time spent with her Uncle Peck, learning to drive and engaging in a sexual relationship, we are brought into a world full of gray areas. Despite the heavy subject matter, How I Learned to Drive is wildly funny and surprising. It is a tale of survival, the story of a woman who learns the rules of the road, and of life, from behind the wheel.

Expertly penned by renowned playwright Paula Vogel, the play won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play, and an Obie Award. It also garnered myriad awards for its lead actors, Mary Louis Parker and David Morse.

Attic Salt Theatre Company Artistic Director Jeff Catanese says, “As a theater company that makes writing the measure for all of its productions, it’s rare that a play crosses your desk of which every member of the company says, ‘We HAVE to produce this play.’ We feel very lucky we have the opportunity to do so and only hope we can do Ms. Vogel’s beautiful work justice.”

Managing Director of Attic Salt Marci Bernstein agrees: “We’ve had the joy of producing some of the greatest works in contemporary theater here in Asheville over the past five years. I think this one might be our crowning achievement.”

The cast for How I Learned to Drive is composed of local theater all-stars, Trinity Smith Keel, Jeff Catanese, Chelsey Lee Gaddy, Samantha Lebrocq and Henry Williamson. The play will be directed by Marci Bernstein, Attic Salt’s Managing Director.

Tickets for How I Learned to Drive are available now through the Asheville Community Theatre box office at 828-254-1320, or online atashevilletheatre.org.

COMING NEXT: In time for the holidays,ActorsNET presents George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s comic romp, THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER. A radio personality is injured while visiting a family and convalesces in their home, upsetting the private lives of all in the household – especially when he broadcasts his Christmas show from their residence. Victoria Benn directs. The show performs weekends Dec. 2 – 18 — Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.